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Tuesday,
August 12, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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HC orders govt to test Pepsi products Samjhauta gets
Ministry’s nod
Godhra accused challenge invoking of POTA
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Kalam tells children to nurture a dream Iraq war may change world order: analyst
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Gopal Das asks Muslims to compromise
on Ram temple Stop creation of new districts: EC tells Madhya Pradesh Report on rape case submitted
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HC orders govt to test Pepsi products New Delhi, August 11 Directing that the test report be placed before the court within three weeks, Mr Justice Bader Durez Ahmed issued notices to the Union Government and the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The latter had claimed in its report that the products of Pepsi and Coca Cola in India had pesticide limits more than the internationally prescribed standards. The government and the CSE were directed by the court to submit their replies by September 22. The court also sought details from the government about the stopping of the supply of Pepsi products to the Canteen Stores Department (CSD) of the Defence Ministry. The directions were issued by the court following a lawsuit filed by Pepsico India Holding Limited, seeking to restrain the CSE from further publicising its report, alleging that it was not authentic. Aggrieved by the adverse publicity after the CSE made public its findings last week, Pepsi had moved the High Court challenging the veracity of the NGO’s report. However, Coca Cola has not so far taken any legal recourse against the CSE. When Additional Solicitor General (ASG) K.K. Sud, appearing for the Centre, told the court that the government was seized of the matter and would get the samples of the soft drinks tested, the court said it should be done forthwith because the issue related to public health. Meanwhile, Pepsico today withdrew allegations of “mala fide” against the CSE in its suit. But its counsel Harish Salve said the company would reserve its right to take legal recourse against the NGO in future proceedings. The court also directed the CSE to place before it a fresh copy of its report and other relevant documents on the basis of which it had come to the conclusion that the pesticide limit in the soft drinks was of a dangerous level. Mr Salve questioned the veracity of the CSE report and claimed that it was not “correct and reliable”. Mr Sud said the government had taken the matter very seriously as the NGO had high credibility for its work in the field of environment and ecology. He said the Central Committee on Food Standards would also be involved in the matter as it was empowered to fix standards for soft drinks. The CSE had earlier this year stated in its report that the bottled water being supplied in the country by some multinationals and Indian companies was also not as safe as the latter had been claiming. |
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Samjhauta gets
Ministry’s nod
New Delhi, August 11 The Ministry of Home Affairs is understood to have given its green signal to the resumption of Samjhauta Express and the matter came up for discussion at today’s meeting of the CCS, presided over by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Sources said China also came up for discussion in a big way at the CCS meet. The improvement in Indo-Pak relations was clearly reflected in a small but significant development today wherein India and Pakistan exchanged “replacement visas” for those diplomats and staffers — 19 Indians and 17 Pakistanis — whose visas had expired. The strength of the two countries’ High Commissions remains fixed at 47. It is understood that the two countries will take up the issue of increasing the High Commissions’ strength — and possibly take it back to the original figure of 110 personnel — after watching progress of the August 27-28 talks on resumption of air links. External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, who attended the CCS meeting, talked tersely with the waiting reporters and described the 90-minute-long meeting as a “routine” one. Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission K.C. Pant and National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra were also present at the meeting. The notable absentee at today’s meeting was Defence Minister George Fernandes who is away to Alwar for attending a function of the Samata Party. |
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Godhra accused challenge invoking of POTA New Delhi, August 11 The four accused — Salmibhai Abdul Gaffar Sheikh, Mohammed Hussein Abdul Rahim Kalota, Siraj Abadullah Jamsa and Mohammed Abdul Sattar — were granted bail by the Gujarat High Court last month, but it later suspended its order when the prosecution raised the issue of POTA. The counsel of the accused made the submissions while a Bench was hearing the Gujarat Government’s petition, challenging the grant of bail to them on the ground that under POTA the rules regarding bail were stringent. |
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Gift of education for fatherless poor New Delhi, August 11 A widow at 37 with seven children and a prosperous business to look after, the late Pushpawati Loomba like countless other women who were addressed as widows first and women later ensured that all her seven children got the best education, says the proud son. He traces his journey from Jalandhar to the United Kingdom and the setting up of a trust that nurtures the dream of gifting education to the deprived. Raj grew up admiring the fortitude and perseverance of his mother, and when she was no more, he decided to pay her a tribute. “The trust, which is in her name, was formed five years ago with the aim of providing education to children who have lost their fathers and their mothers have inadequate means to support them,” says Mr Loomba. Acknowledging that his father’s financial stature was an asset, Mr Loomba adds, “Our mother could provide us the best education because we could afford it. Our concern today is the millions who are not in the same position”. The concern for these children manifests itself in the aid that the trust gives to about 800 children in eight states in the country. “We identify 100 children who have lost their fathers and their mothers earn less than Rs 1,500 a month and assure them a scholarship for the next five years. The amount varies according to the living index of the state,” adds Mr Loomba, who has been conferred the Hind Rattan. Unlike most expatriates, he chose to cut across the boundaries of regionalism and set up the trust first in New Delhi followed by Orissa. The trust aims to cover all 28 states and seven union territories. “I want to educate 100 children in each state of the country,” points out Loomba as he sweeps his eyes over the photographs of children he provides for. Some prominent people who have helped him in this venture are Ms Cherie Blair, the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, Dr L. M. Singhvi, Lord Dholakia and the Governor of Uttaranchal, Mr Sudershan Aggarwal. Modest about his own accomplishment, Mr Loomba chooses to acknowledge and credit those who have helped him, “Mr Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, hosted a dinner specially to help raise funds to educate two children who have lost their fathers at a London University. Over £ 10,000 was raised on this occasion.” About what he expects in return for his efforts, he says, “I want these children to understand that they were given a chance to improve their life. When they grow up, they should return the benevolence to society.” |
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Kalam tells children to nurture a dream Lucknow, August 11 “There are no short cuts to success,” he said, after inaugurating a two-day National Children Science Festival. Donning the role of a teacher, the President asked the students to develop an inquisitive mind and urged them to ask questions. “Every question leads to its answer,” he said. He said Prof Chandrashekhar, the renowned astrophysist, had asked a question as to why some stars had light while others were dark. “This question led him to the discovery of black hole,” Dr Kalam said. Similarly, Prof C.V. Raman once pondered as to why the colour of the sky was blue. “He found his answer in Raman Effect”, the President said. He said he had two gurus, Shiva Subhramanyam Iyer, who taught him how the birds fly, and Prof Vikram Sarabhai. “I was in Class V when my guru took the entire class to an island to show how birds fly. That very day I decided to do something with flight technology when I grew up,” he said. During a question-answer session, the children asked him why India had adopted missile technology when it had destructive effect. “India has adopted this technology to protect its borders from its neighbours, some of whom are not friends,” Mr Kalam said. When asked how he felt when the SLV 3 project had failed, he said, “It was a heart breaking experience. But we had a great leader like Satish Dhawan who took the blame of the failure and declared that we would succeed in a year’s time. When we succeeded next year, he gave the credit to his team,” Dr Kalam said. He asked the students to send their questions to www.presidentofindia.nic.in and promised them answers within 24 hours. |
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Iraq war may change world order: analyst New Delhi, August 11 “The possibility, in medium term, of Europe, China, Russia and India emerging as a like-minded, countervailing group to US power cannot be ignored,” Mr Lakshman Kadirgamar, Senior Adviser to the President of Sri Lanka and former Minister for Foreign Affairs, said here today. The world order in future, he said, would depend to some extent on how quickly US casualties subsided, and how effectively the US Government restored law and order in Iraq and constituted a viable form of government. But to a greater extent, perhaps, it would depend on the domestic economic question and the role of civil society in shaping governmental decisions in Washington. Addressing the eighth Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture on “World Order After Iraq”, he said the critical question after the war on Iraq in the short term was whether the USA again bypassed the Security Council in pursuit of its policy goals. Certain statements indicated that Syria and Iran could be the targets for a regime change. In that event, dangerous schisms would be created and the potential for further destabilisation of the world order enhanced, he said. The Adviser to the Sri Lankan President said the impact of the war on the Islamic countries was problematic. An increase in terrorist activity as a response to the war could not be ruled out. The most serious immediate development was the transformation of Shiites, who are supposed to be most hostile to Saddam Hussain, into a resistance movement that employs suicide operations as weapons against the coalition. Earlier, the Prem Bhatia Memorial Award for Political Reporting and Analysis was given to Mr Praveen Swami of the “Frontline” magazine. The award carries a prize money of Rs 2 lakh and a citation. This year’s scholarships for three young journalists for research in media-related subjects were given to Ms Amulya Gopalakrishna of the “Frontline”, Mr Riaz Ahmed Wani of the “Censor” magazine of Jammu and Kashmir and Mr Dhananjay Kumar of the “Hindustan Hindi”. The scholarship amount is Rs 60,000. While Ms Gopalakrishna will carry out research on the subject “The state of arts in the media market place”, Mr Wani’s subject of research is “Finding a better economic alternative for rural Kashmir as means of fighting insurgency”. Mr Kumar will carry out research on the topic “Wrong health reporting and the role of the media in ensuring health care scenario”. The scholarships are sponsored by the Mahindra Educational Trust and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. |
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Two Lashkar militants held New Delhi, August 11 The militants were identified as Altaf Hussain and Aftab Ahmed. A Chinese pistol, a wireless set and some documents were recovered from them. They were arrested last evening from Palika Bazar. They were looking for a house in the Capital to make a base, the police said. Their arrest came in the wake of intelligence intercepts which had suggested that there could be some LeT’s fidayeen members present in the Capital. They are being interrogated by a joint team of the police. |
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Gopal Das asks Muslims to compromise New Delhi, August 11 “Muslim community should come forward in handing down the (disputed) land and help in the construction of the Ram temple”, the Nyas chief told The Tribune from his headquarters. While on the one side he asked the Muslims to adopt a compromising attitude on this issue, Gopal Das also stated that he would initiate a dialogue process with Muslim leaders, including the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, to convince the community to take this bold step. Asked whether the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which has been opposed to any dialogue with the Muslim leaders on the issue, would be involved in his dialogue initiative, Gopal Das said: “In the initial phase, I would hold talks at the personal level. However, in the final stages the VHP and other organisations associated with the Ramjanmabhoomi movement would take part. Their views are equally important for resolving the issue.” Gopal Das said the Nyas was ready to wait for a decade or two for the resolution of the issue and begin the construction of the temple. However, there could be no compromise to shift the idol of Lord Ram from the existing place. |
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Stop creation of new districts: EC tells Madhya Pradesh New Delhi, August 11 The commission’s direction came after the Chief Electoral Officer of Madhya Pradesh approached it on the issue, EC sources said. In a letter to the state Chief Secretary, the commission said “the commission is of the considered view that any reorganisation of the districts, so as to create new districts at this late juncture would seriously hamper the working of the Election Commission and the election machinery in the field”. |
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Report on rape case submitted New Delhi, August 11 Sources in the commission said its members Baby Rani Maurya and Nafisa Hussain had gathered some information about the incident and would talk to more persons. The team visited Agra on August 9 and 10. |
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Nikhil Kumar joins Congress New Delhi, August 11 Mr Kumar met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and assured her about his commitment to the party ideology. Mr Kumar’s wife is a Congress MP from Bihar. |
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Munir, the 13-year-old Pakistani boy who was in Indian custody for straying into Indian territory in June, will be boarding the Delhi-Lahore bus tomorrow.
Pakistani High Commission officials met Munir at Rajasthan House here, where he has been staying since yesterday, to complete the paperwork to issue him a temporary passport to facilitate his journey to Lahore.
Officials of the Indian External Affairs Ministry, too, met Munir and issued him an exit permit, granting permission to leave India.
Earlier, Munir, who looked unwell, underwent a series of medical tests.
Son of a Lahore-based ice cream seller, Munir had strayed into Sriganganagar district in Rajasthan on June 26 and was jailed. —
TNS
